Qebec seems determined to remain the "one in every family."
This time it's "le bel enfant's" proposed Charter of Values. If passed, the new charter will prohibit civil servants, including teachers and hospital staff, from wearing any "conspicuous" religious attire.
It's being sold as a way to ensure the government is "neutral" on religion.
But the hypocrisy involved has many Canadians shaking their heads in disbelief. This has nothing to do with enshrining secularism in government and everything to do with politics.
If you have any doubt about that, simply look to the astonishing exemption afforded the massive crucifixes that adorn many of Quebec's government buildings, including its National Assembly. They are defended on the grounds of "heritage."
There are two conclusions that one can draw from this. The first and most likely is that the shaky minority Parti Québécois government is trying to gin up support among the more rural voters. The other is that Quebec Premier Pauline Marois is playing the long game and spoiling for a fight with the federal government that could tear open the fabric of Canada.
Because, when this gets challenged in court, (which it will if adopted), and loses (which it will), it will open up a decades-old constitutional crisis that saw the Charter of Rights and Freedoms passed, but never signed onto by Quebec.
Only time will tell whether Quebecers will reject this transparent attack on foreign ethnicity, or whether it will be up to our courts to strike the injustice down.
